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Depressive symptoms linked to social media use are higher among girls

Evidence linking social media use and depressive symptoms has emerged from a study of 14 year olds, with the connection being stronger for girls than boys.

The study, published in EClinicalMedicine, showed that, among teenage girls, greater use of social media corresponded with a stepwise increase in depressive symptoms.1 For boys, higher depressive symptoms were seen among those reporting three or more hours of daily social media use.

Online bullying and poor sleep were linked with greater use of social media and were responsible for the low mood seen among both sexes, the researchers concluded.

The study looked at associations between social media use and depressive symptoms and analysed data from …